Chitika

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Hadrian and Antoninus, Achilles and Patroclus, Alexander the Great and Hephaestion were among the most controversial same sex
relationships in history. Today, such relationship is slowly accepted by
people. As a matter of fact, same sex marriage is already practice in some
European and North American countries.

1. Elton John – one of the most famous and most successful British
singers in history. He is in a same sex relationship with David Furnish,
a former advertising executive and now filmmaker. John and Furnish entered a
civil partnership in 2005 and have two kids through a surrogate mother.

2. Ellen DeGeneres – is the host of the popular American TV show Helen.
She is currently married to Portia de Rossi

3. Ann
Heche - she had a same-sex relationship with Ellen DeGeneres for 3 years
from 1997 to 2000.

4. Martina Navratilova – she is well-remembered as one of the woman to
ever play tennis in the history of the sports. Years ago, she publicly admitted
that she is a lesbian. She was involved with author
Rita Mae Brown from 1984 to 1991. She had a long-term relationship with partner
Judy Nelson.

5. George Michael – is one of the handsomest and most successful singers
in history. At first, he tried to hide that he is gay but later took the courage
to announce publicly that he is gay. Michael established a relationship
with Anselmo Feleppa, a male Brazilian dress-designer, whom he had met in 1991.
He also had a long-term relationship with Kenny Goss, a former flight attendant
and cheerleader coach.

6. Samantha Fox – an English pop singer and actress is currently living with Myra Stratton, her manager.

7. Janis Ian - Ian met Patricia Snyder in
1989 and they got married in Toronto
in 2003.

8. Charice Pempengco – a Filipino singer, is the latest celebrity
superstar who publicly revealed to the world that she is lesbian. This singing
sensation revealed that she had past relationships with other girls in
the industry.

9. Aiza Seguerra – a very popular child star and a celebrated Filipino
singer was in a same sex relationship for several years with a non-showbiz
personality and the two decided recently to get married in the U.S.

10. Billie Jean King – an American tennis superstar who admitted publicly
that she is a lesbian while still married to Larry King. She had an intimate
relationship with her secretary, Marilyn Barnett and is currently living
with his life partner Llana Kloss.

The World’s Most Remarkable and
Celebrated Same Sex Relationships in History

Several Ancient Greeks and
Romans were involved in male same-sex love. All throughout history until today,
there are many people including notable leaders, rich people and famous
celebrities who are involved in same sex relationships. Dionysius is regarded
by the Greeks as the patron god of hermaphrodites and transvestites. Aphrodite
is considered patron of homosexual love between males.

One of the most popular
paintings in the world is the “Mona Lisa” by the universal genius and
Renaissance man – Leonardo de Vinci. After more than 500 years since its
creation, the painting continuously captured and captivated the attention of
millions of people most especially by art enthusiasts and lovers. It was very popular and controversial for
several reasons. Keep that mouse rolling to find the most intriguing and
controversial facts about the classical “Mona Lisa”.

1. The Mona Lisa, which is one
of the most expensive paintings in the world, is also known as La Gioconda
or La
Joconde

2. In some instances, it is also called the
Portrait of
Lisa Gherardini and has been acclaimed as the most sung about, the best known,
the most written about, the most parodied and the most visited work of art in
the world.

4. Lisa Gherardini was the wife of Francesco
del Giocondo, a rich merchant who lived in the City of Florence in Italy. The
city is one of the most famous cities in the world during the Renaissance
period.

5. This extremely famous
painting is a half-length portrait of a woman in oil on a poplar panel and was painted
between 1503 and 1506.

6. It is currently on
permanent display at the Musee du Louver in Paris, the capital of France which
is the most visited country in the world.

7. It is a property of the
French Republic and was purchased by King Francois I of France after Leonardo
da Vinci’s death from his student and assistant Salai, who inherited the
painting including his other works.

8. It was bought by King
Francois I for 4,000 ecus and kept it at Palace of Fontainebleau and then it
was given to Louis XIV and was kept at the Palace of Versailles.

9. The term “Mona Lisa” is
taken from the Italian “Ma Donna Lisa” which means “My Lady Lisa”. Mona is the
contraction of Madonna.

10. The painting is thought to
have been commissioned for the new home of Francesco del Giocondo and Lisa and
to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea.

11. The “Mona Lisa” is an
unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci like many of his work.

12. The painting also spent a
short period of time in the bedroom of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Palace of
Tuileries.

13. It was moved to the Louvre
after the French Revolution and was move again at the Brest Arsenal during the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

14. After the Franco-Prussian
War it was moved back to the Louvre but was move again to several places such
Chateau d’Amboise, Loc-Dieu Abbey, Chateau de Chambord and Ingres Museum.

15. When the painting was
stolen on August 21, 1911, the Louvre was closed for an entire week to aid in
investigation of the theft.

16. The French poet Guillaume
Appollinaire was arrested and jailed but was released due to lack of evidence
to prove his guilt. His fiend, the famous painter – Pablo Picasso, was also
brought in for questioning but was also freed.

17. It took 2 years to finally
capture the real thief – Vincenzo Peruggia, an employee of Louvre. He was
captured when he tried to sell it to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

18. This Italian patriot’s
main reason for stealing the painting is that he believed Leonardo's painting
should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum.

19. The Mona Lisa painting was
exhibited all over Italy and returned to Louvre in 1913. Peruggia was hailed
for his patriotism and served only 6 months in jail for stealing the painting.

20. Mona Lisa was among the
first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape and Leonardo
was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective.

21. One more thing that makes Mona Lisa uniquely intriguing is the
fact that it has no clearly visible eyebrows or eyelashes.

22. The painting had suffered
several minor damages especially its frame but was repaired carefully
accurately by experts.

23. The painting has had many
different decorative frames in its history and had undergone several cleaning,
re-varnishing, and touch-up.

24. Another fascinating fact
and great manifestation of Mona Lisa’s popularity is that about 6 million
people view this masterpiece at the Louvre each year.Visitors generally spend
about 15 seconds viewing the Mona Lisa.

25. Mona Lisa was exhibited in
New York City and Washington D.C. in the United States from December 1962 to
March 1963 for a period of 3 months. It was also exhibited in Moscow and Tokyo
in 1974.

26. Mona Lisa is the 5th
most expensive painting in the world. Its 1962 price of $100 million is
approximately $700 million in 2010.

27. A Mona Lisa smoking a pipe
was created by Sapeck in 1883 while Marcel Duchamp created a Mona Lisa with a
moustache and a goatee and added the inscription "Elle a chaud au
cul" which literally mean "she has a hot ass".

28. Some parts of the painting
were damaged in several occasions. The first was in 1956, when the lower part
of the painting was severely damaged by a vandal who doused the painting with
acid.

29. The second was on December
30, 1956, when a rock was thrown by a young man named Ugo Ungaza Villegas from
Bolivia that resulted in the loss of a speck of pigment near the left elbow.
The damaged was later painted over.

30. The third attack on the
painting occurred in April 1974 at the Tokyo National Museum when a lame woman
sprayed red paint at the painting because she was upset by the museum's policy
for disabled people. The painting was undamaged.

31. The most recent attack on
the painting was on August 2, 2009 when a Russian woman threw a terra cotta mug
at the painting because of disappointment when she was denied French
citizenship. The mug was purchased at the museum. The painting was undamaged.

32. To avoid further attacks
and damages, the painting is now shielded by a bulletproof glass.

33. To avoid future damages, the
painting is currently kept under strict, climate-controlled conditions maintaining
humidity at 50% ±10%, and temperature between 18 and 21 °C.

Frogs are good leapers and they
are noisy especially during rainy season. Many people find frogs scary. For
others they are slimy and yucky and many frogs are considered ugly. But for
others they find frogs yummy. Well, whatever your perceptions about frogs are,
one thing is for sure, there are also beautiful and colorful species of frogs.

Here are the most brightly-colored
and prettiest frogs in the world. Some of them are kept as pet. All the frogs
on the list are multi-colored.

If you don’t agree with me that
the Common Reed Frog is
colorfully attractive and pretty then there must be something wrong with my
vision. This colorful frog which is scientifically named Hyperolius
viridiflavus can be found in many African countries. In addition, this frog is
not just lovely. It is also unique because it can change sex organ from female
to male.

This colorful
frog from the island of Madagascar which is scientifically named Scaphiophryne
gottlebei is a burrowing frog than can attain a length of up to 4 cm and can
stay underground for almost a year. This highly decorated frog is also known
for a variety of common names such as Rainbow Burrowing Frog, Ornate Hopper,
Gottlebe’s Narrow-mouthed Frog and ed Rain Frog. This popular pet animal is
regarded as “one of the rarest and most remarkable amphibians” in the world.

One of the most beautiful and multi-colored frogs that can be found in
the Amazon is the Ranitomeya amazonica. This small but poisonous frog species
of South America can attain a length of up to
1.9 centimeters.

Without a doubt, the Red-eyed Treefrog is definitely one of
the most colorful frogs on the planet. Its red-colored eyes are noticeably
captivating and attractive hence the common name. Scientifically named Agalychnis callidryas, this lovely creature
can be found in Central America. It can grow
up to length of 7.6 centimeters.

In the wild, bright coloration is an
indication that such creatures are poisonous and should serve as a warning to
predators. Like many small and colorful frogs in South
America, the Harlequin
Poison Frog. Its binomial name is OOphaga histrionica and is also commonly
called Harlequin Poison Dart Frog and can be found in Ecuador and Colombia.

The Splendid Leaf Frog or Cruziohyla
calcarifer is a beautiful and colorful tree frog that can be found in
many Central and South American countries such as Panama,
Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Ecuador and Colombia.

Another tiny but beautifully and
intricately colored frog of South America is the
Ecuador Poison Frog or Ameerega bilinguis. It can be found in
several countries such as Colombia,
Ecuador and Peru. Like many
colorful frogs, it is also poisonous.

The lovely
and attractive Baron’s Mantella or
Matella baroni is a colorful frog that can be found in Madagascar.
Like many frog species in the island, it is also threatened by loss of habitat.
It is also commonly called Variegated Golden Frog and Madagascar Poison Frog.

Undeniably, one of the most
brightly-colored frogs on the planet is the tomato Frog or Crapaud Rouge de
Madagascar. It was so-named due to the fact that its vibrant red-orange color
resembles that of a tomato fruit. The bright coloration of this frog is an
indication that it is toxic. The substance that it secretes from its skin can
cause allergy to humans.

All throughout the history of
boxing, several Filipino professional fighters became boxing legends and member
of “Hall of Fame”. Among the most prestigious Filipino boxers of the past were
Gabriel” Flash” Elorde who was inducted in the Boxing Hall of Fame, Pancho Villa who was also elected in the
Boxing Hall of Fame and others.

Needless to say, Manny
Pacquiao is considered as the greatest Filipino boxer ever. Here are the
greatest ring gladiators in our present time aside from Paquiao.

Another Filipino-American professional boxer is Nonito Donaire, Jr.
This 4-division world champion was the former WBO, the Ring, and Diamond Super
Bantamweight champion. He also won the IBF Super Bantamweight, WBC and WBO
Bantamweight, WBC and WBO Bantamweight, Interim WBA Super Flyweight and IBF
Flyweight titles. With these impressive boxing records, he is regarded next to
Manny Pacquiao as the greatest boxers of the new millennium.

Brian Viloria

Brian Viloria who is a Filipino-American professional boxer became
WBO and WBA flyweight champion, WBC light flyweight champion, the WBC Light
Flyweight and IBF Junior Flyweight champion of the world. With his records,
Viloria can be considered one of the greatest Pinoy boxers of the new
millennium.

Other promising and rising
Filipino boxers who can be great given the right opportunity are the following:

What are the most popular and
unique recipes for sitaw or string beans? Check the link for the answer.

Among the most popular and
longest varieties of beans is the “string beans. It grows well in the different
parts of the world especially in tropical regions. It grows well and highly
productive in the Philippines.
Here are some of the moist popular recipes you can cook with string beans
locally known in Filipino language as “sitaw”. It is also called Green Bean and
Snap Bean.

Boiled or Nilaga is the
simplest way to cook string beans or sitaw. Simply cut the beans in serving
cuts and put in a boiling water in a pot. Cook until tender and serve. Prepare
a condiment composed of sliced tomatoes, calamansi juice, chili and bagoong or
patis (fish sauce).

String Beans Adobo

One of the commonest way of
cooking sitaw or string bean is Adobo. Cut the string beans about an inch long.
Prepare onion and garlic and pork which are cut into small pieces. Saute garlic
and onion and add pork. Simmer for a while and add sitaw or string beans. Add
paminta or black better, laurel leaf and soy sauce (toyo) Cover pan stirring
occasionally until cook. Serve hot.

Sitaw or string bean with
chicken liver and gizzard is a perfect and nutritious dish. Sautee garlic and
onion and add chopped liver and garlic.
Cover until all water evaporated and add string beans cut into pieces an
inch long. Season it with soy sauce, paminta and laurel. Cook until tender and
serve hot.

String beans can also be added
with sinigang na baboy, sinigang na baka and inabraw o dinengdeng. The Thai
people have a unique way of eating string beans. They usually eat it raw and
added with spicy ingredients.

One of the most abundant
edible fish in the world for human consumption is the so-called “bangus” or
milkfish. These fish are usually grown/farm in saline ponds. Dagupan City, tagged as the “bangus capital
of the Philippines” is the largest producer of milkfish in the country. Because
of its abundance, the price of this good tasting fish is not so high. It is
affordable for everybody.

Here are some of the best
foods/recipes you can make from “bangus”. Always choose fresh fish when buying.

In a large clean, deboned and
scaled milkfish or bangus whose meat is already removed and boiled, insert the
mixture of sautéed garlic, onion & tomatoes; boiled fish meat, finely
chopped carrots and siling berde; finely chopped ham and raisins; with flour
and egg. Wrapped it with aluminum foil and fry or cook it in the oven.

Stuffed Bangus

Stuffed Bangus is a grilled
food prepared by inserting into the empty stomach of the fish a mixture of
finely chopped tomatoes, cabbage, ginger, onion and season with fish sauce and
msg.

Paksiw na Bangus

Paksiw na bangus is an easy
recipe to prepare. Put together in a pot the milkfish which is cut into pieces,
vinegar, black pepper (ground and whole) siling pangsigang, fish sauce, ½ cup
of water. cover and bring to boil until the fish is cook.

Sinigang na Bangus

In preparing Sinigang nab
angus, you will need 2 medium-sized bangus slice in 3 parts, 1 medium-sized
chopped onion, 2 pieces crushed ginger, patis, sliced tomatoes, siling haba or
pansigang, camote tops or kangkong (abt 2 in long), radish (labanos) cut
diagonally about 1 cm thick and tamarind powder. In a pot with 6 cups of water, boil together
ginger, onion and tomatoes. Add slices of bangus, cover and simmer in a medium
fire. Add siling haba, kangkong and radish and let boil. Pour in the tamarind
powder and fish sauce to taste, bring to boil for 5 minutes. Dish out and serve
hot. Kangkong is called water spinach in English. Eggplant and okra can also be
added.

Boneless Bangus

Boneless bangus is perfect for
breakfast although it can be served also during lunch and dinner. Boneless Bangus is prepared byslicing/
cutting the fish from the head to the tail in halves and marinated with vinegar,
salt, pimiento or ground black pepper. It is cook by pan frying and served with
a condiment which is a mixture of soy sauce and calamansi extract or vinegar,
crushed garlic and calamansi extract. Catsup is also another alternative
condiment.

Kilawing Bangus

Kilawin is a no-cook preparation
of bangus or milkfish. Remove the scales and debone the fish. Cut into small
cubes and flavor with salt, msg, chopped red chili (siling labuyo), calamansi
extract or vinegar if calamansi is not available. This is good as appetizer.
Just make sure that the bangus are fresh.

Inihaw na Bangus/Grilled

Inihaw or grilling is the
simplest way to cook bangus. Condiment for this is a mixture of bagoong,
calamansi extract and chopped red chili. It is good for picnics and perfect as
appetizer.

Tinapang Bangus/Smoked Milkfish

Medium fish bangus or milkfish
are also smoked. Cooking is pan frying and usually served with slices of
tomatoes seasoned with msg and salt or fish sauce (patis)

What do you think is the most
popular fast food chain in the Philippines? Check out the link to find the
answer.

Fast food chains are the most
favorite place of eating destinations of most people all over the world. They
are the best choice by many because they don’t have to wait long for their
orders unlike in restaurants where customers have to wait long for their foods
to be served.

Undeniably, the most popular
fast food chains in the Philippines is “Jollibee”. It has the largest food
chains in the archipelago. It is the huge favorite of Filipinos because of its
spaghetti which suits much the taste of Filipinos. The company’s chicken joy is
also popular and is a heavy favorite. It is the favorite of young and old, rich
and commoners alike. Jollibee has as a total of 2,510 stores worldwide.

McDonalds, which is a popular
American fast food, is also popular in the Philippines. This fast food’s most
popular foods include the very crispy and perfectly seasoned “French fries”,
the huge and amazingly good “big mac” and their enormously good-tasting crispy fried
chicken. It has several branches all over the country. Most of its patrons
belong to the middle class and elite.

Chowking is another very
popular fast food chain in the country. Chowking is the favorite destination of
lovers of Filipino-Chinese foods. It specialized in Filipino-Chinese foods such
as noodles and others. Among its most popular foods are Chao Pan, Laureate,
Halo-halo, Wanton, Siopao and many others. It is a sister company of Jollibee.

Greenwich is probably the most
popular Philippine fast food that offers pizza. This sister company of the
Jollibee, also offer other foods such as chicken and others. It has several
food chains all over the Philippines. It is the largest pizza and pasta chains
in the Philippines.

Pizza Hut, an American
restaurant chain, is another very popular fast food chain in the Philippines. Teens
and pizza lovers favorite fast food chain is Pizza Hut. Like Greenwich, it
specialized in pizza and their good-tasting “iced tea” is a favorite of Pizza
Hut fanatics. This food chain has several branches which are located in the
different parts of the country. Pizza Hut has more than 5,139 store locations
in 94 other countries and territories around the world.

Mang Inasal, which is another
Filipino-owned fast food chain, is very popular among Filipinos who love
chicken barbecue. Other foods are also offered at Inasal. Rice is unlimited if you
order selected foods. Mang Inasal is one of the fastest growing fast food chains
in the Philippines and has now scores of branches nationwide. It is the
favorite fast food chain of chicken barbecue lovers.

Chicken lovers favorite food
hub is KFC. KFC or Kentucky Fried Chicken is another American fast food chain
that has been loved by millions of Filipinos. This food chain specialized in
chicken. Their chicken barbecue is truly mouth-watering and gorgeously best
tasting. All the ingredients of the foods they serve are all made of chicken. KFC
is the the world's largest chain of fried chicken fast food
restaurants.

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